Weak Positions Obvious in United Loss
West Ham have never had a ‘perfect’ squad. To be fair, most sides in the Premier League will always have a weakness. So it is important in the transfer windows for teams to take stock of what they have and get new blood in. January is the perfect time for the Hammers to do business.
Obviously the board must also consider the fact West Ham have never done well in the January window. It’s hard to get value for players because so few are available, and everyone knows what kind of player everyone else needs. As such people end up throwing money around and very few teams improve.
But the Hammers need to take this opportunity. The summer was not a great window, as we went through in detail, and mistakes were made. Too many signings of a rotation level were signed, and not enough first team improvers.
Particularly in two positions which were obviously weak against United: Right Back and Striker.
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Strengthening
Striker is a position that West Ham have been struggling with for some time now. There are a number of options, but for my money there are only two worth pursuing at the moment. Jermain Defoe is a top Premier League striker, and Batshuayi is a talent who has not been able to shine.
Daniel Sturridge is reportedly injured again, so it is unlikely we will see him in Claret and Blue this season. Andy Carroll is a top target man, but we are lacking versatility. Batshuayi would be a loan move, with an option to purchase if West Ham can get one, but Defoe would be a permanent move reported to be around 6m. Cheap for a top goalscorer. Either would provide the movement up front the systems we utilize require.
The other glaring weakness is at right back. Nordtveit has done pretty well in that role, but he does not have the pace. He was shown up by Rashford, and doesn’t offer an attacking option. If I was on the West Ham board I would be looking to spend big here, as it’s not a position that I can see being filled to a top Premier League standard any time soon.
If the club can show some ambition here then Top 10 is an easy target. Fail to do so, and a relegation battle is a distinct possibility.